This work was created for a Canadian Design show entitled "Off/Cut". Select Canadian Designers were invited to create works from indigenous woods and given a limited size requirement. This was the text to describe my work:
My submission for Off/Cut utilizes ready-made objects and their inherent popular culture associations, as a means to inspire contemplation about the nature of the evolving Canadian identity and the relationship our indigenous resources play in that identity. The material shift present in my object represents the high value of our quintessentially Canadian resource of wood (specifically Maple) but also attempts to defeat the sometimes negative colloquial nature associated to the medium. This is accomplished through humor and a playful approach to the value associated to the wood and how that value could be expressed. As well the the ring employs the relationship between the Maple and Diamonds as a means to elevate the stature of the wood and create unique objects through the juxtaposition of materials and concepts.